1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cleaning of flooring materials such as carpet. More specifically, the present invention relates to rotary soil extraction devices. Accordingly, the present invention involves the fields of cleaning and carpet cleaning and treatment.
2. State of the Art
Thorough removal of debris from various flooring materials such as carpet can be a challenging task. Dry vacuuming can remove a portion of debris such as soil, etc.; however, a large portion of such material remains embedded within carpet fibers. A wide variety of mechanisms have been developed to provide additional cleaning such as shampoo processes, steam cleaning, soil absorption such as bonnet cleaning, soil extraction such as chemical cleaning done by ChemDry and others, host cleaning where a particulate cleaning agent is dispersed and then vacuumed, and encapsulation using a crystalline cleaning agent. Each of these processes provides benefits ranging from cost, well established performance and market, and simplicity. However, most, if not all, current approaches within each area also suffer from various drawbacks such as excess water, extended dry times, chemical residue build-up, and/or poor soil removal.
Conventional wisdom in cleaning carpets is to clean deep and penetrate the carpet fibers to remove soil and debris. However, this often leaves excessive water remaining in the carpet which results in extended dry times. Further, chemical treatments typically leave at least a portion of the chemical in the carpet, often resulting in unacceptable residue build-up over time. Most chemical treatments are limited to cleaning the top quarter portion of the carpet piles, leaving the remainder substantially uncleaned. Some shampoo treatments and steam cleaning processes clean deeper into the carpet pile, but leave substantial amounts of water which can take as much as twelve hours or more to completely dry.
As such, improved processes and systems which can be used to enhance deep cleaning of flooring materials such as carpet without leaving excessive water or chemical residue, and which are also economic, continue to be sought through ongoing development efforts.